


Of Hildas and Horses

by SmolPidge



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, little crush fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolPidge/pseuds/SmolPidge
Summary: Hilda has never liked horses. Marianne is a horse enthusiast. Dorte is a Hilda-hater. Do the math.aka. In which Hilda finds out that horsegirls are her type
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83





	Of Hildas and Horses

**Author's Note:**

> This is my nagamas gift exchange gift exchange for snowysatoru on Twitter! I was originally going to work with the DoroPetra prompt, but I couldn't come up with anything (woops). They also asked for HildaMari hanging out with Dorte, so I ran with it. This was pretty challenging considering I don't personally ship the two, so at like three different points I realized I was writing a friendship fic instead of a ship fic. I think I managed to fix that, but apologies if this still somehow comes off as gen. Either way, hope you enjoy!

“Sorry I’m late, Marianne!” Hilda called as she entered the stables. “I got caught up with other business.” That wasn’t entirely a lie; she’d been quite busy convincing Ignatz to take over her stable shift that afternoon. If the Professor hadn’t walked in at the wrong time, she probably would have succeeded too. 

“Oh, I’m over here,” she heard Marianne say from one of the stalls at the end of the row. 

Hilda recognized which one it was as she approached her classmate. She was well aware of Marianne’s love for horses, and she had talked with her enough to know Dorte was her unconditional favorite. It wasn’t too hard to pick up on considering Marianne normally had little to say about most things. Dorte, however, she could murmur about for ages. She never pushed herself that far, but if she weren’t so self-conscious, Hilda was sure she could write a full drama about the horse. 

Personally, Hilda couldn’t understand it. Though her family was rather fond of horses and kept several in the Goneril estate, Hilda had never seen the appeal. As far as she was concerned, they were stubborn, temperamental creatures. Sure, she recognized how transport and battle-effective they were, but the times she’d been thrown off her pony as a child stuck with her more than she liked. Marianne could at least like a  _ pretty  _ horse; Dorte was far too shaggy and bulky for Hilda’s tastes. 

“Sorry for making you help,” Marianne said once Hilda arrived. She was occupied brushing down Dorte. Hilda had been told to feed the horses and replace their hay, not pamper them, but as long as Marianne didn’t expect her to do the same, Hilda would let her do as she pleased. 

Hilda shook her head. “You didn’t  _ make  _ me do anything Marianne. The Professor hands out tasks, remember?”

“I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry you have to work with me, though. I’m sure it must be a pain.” 

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Hilda dismissed the idea. “It’s always a pleasure working with you.” Truthfully, it  _ was  _ a little exhausting working with Marianne. She was prone to causing accidents, and Hilda had been forced to take charge of the situation more than once before. Yet, Marianne always made up for it afterwards with sweets and company, so it wasn’t too bad. Hilda enjoyed being around Marianne, even if she would have preferred doing so at a cafe or one of their rooms. Regardless, Marianne  _ knew  _ horses. She couldn’t possibly mess up too badly this time. 

“So, how do you want to do this?” Hilda asked, aching to get the work over and done with. The earlier she finished, the sooner she could dig into some well-deserved cake. 

“Um, well I can clean out the hay if you take care of the food and water?” said Marianne. 

Hilda internally gave a small cheer of victory. The less poop she had to scoop, the better. “Alright, where can I find the food?” 

“They’re in the shed out by-”

Hilda’s face fell. “Oh nevermind, I’ll do the hay.” Hilda wasn’t about to walk all the way back to the shed, probably multiple times, to feed horses. She didn’t even know where said shed was, which would mean she’d have to be lead there anyway, in which case there was no point in splitting up the work in the first place. As long as she was careful, she’d be fine dealing with the horse crap. She picked up the closest bucket and rake and began scratching at the floor with it, gathering up the hay into a small pile away from her feet. 

“Um, we should probably tie Dorte outside so we don’t bother each other,” Marianne said.

Hilda ignored her. “No, no, look, I can work around him just fine.” Hilda shoved the rake under the horse, yanking her arm backward to drag the hay lying there out. Keeping him put would save them time in the long run. 

“Maybe that’s not such a good idea…”

“Dorte can move a little, can’t he?” Hilda pressed. 

“Well, yes, but-”

“C’mon, Dorte! I can’t clean out the stall with you taking up so much space.” Hilda smacked the horse’s hind with a firm hand. As she waited for the horse to move aside, she crouched down to dig the rake further under him. 

“Hilda watch out!” 

Hilda felt herself being tugged to the left. Dropping her bucket, her body tumbled to the ground and was swept to the side. Dorte gave a harsh whiny and pounded the floor with his hind legs, right where Hilda had been just moments before. 

Hilda looked upwards. Marianne held tightly to her arm, her fingernails leaving marks where her grip had yet to loosen. Marianne had never been a strong girl, and it showed with her heavy panting. Yet, with such little strength, it had been enough.

“Are you okay?” Marianne asked, pulling Hilda up to her feet. 

“Thanks to you.” Hilda stood. She gave Dorte a dirty look, all squinted eyes and pouty lips. “What was that for anyway?” 

“You frightened him!” It was the first time Hilda had heard Marianne raise her voice like that. The quiet and perpetually sad Marianne she knew would have never objected like she had just now. Granted, it was only by a few decibels, but it unsettled Hilda enough to keep her quiet. She sat back down, watching as Marianne let her go and made her way back towards Dorte. 

The horse huffed and moved back and forth. Marianne placed a gentle hand over his nose and began petting his neck in long strokes. “Sh, sh, it was an accident, you’re okay,” she whispered. After a short while, Dorte’s huffs ceased, and his feet kept put. 

“You know a lot about horses,” Hilda mused, back pressed against the wall. Her bucket and rake lay abandoned on the floor. She had no intentions of picking them back up. 

“I suppose you can say that.” Marianne remained at Dorte’s side. 

“I wish I had something like that.”

“Like what?”

“Something I’m passionate about. Something I’m good at.” Hilda shrugged. “For you, it’s obviously horses.”

Marianne didn’t reply. With a last pat, she left Dorte and took a seat next to Hilda. Dorte turned his head to stare at them both, but remained put. It seemed Hilda was no longer in any danger of being trampled over. 

“You know, it’s kind of selfish of me to say,” Hilda continued, “but I was kind of hoping you didn’t have anything either. Maybe that’s why I like hanging out with you so much.”

Again, silence. 

Hilda hadn’t meant to create an awkward silence. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was telling Marianne this either, but it was probably poor judgement on her part. Marianne already had too many issues of her own to listen to Hilda’s, especially when they weren’t even that important. “But, guess I was wrong!” Hilda stretched out her arms. She’d end the conversation now before things got too weird between them. 

“If it means anything, I think you’re good at plenty of things, Hilda,” Marianne cut in before Hilda could do anything else. 

“Really?” Hilda raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“You’re good at helping me, for one.”

“C’mon, Marianne!” Hilda rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count.”

“It doesn’t?” 

“Of course not.” 

Marianne paused. “Well, you’re also good at making people happy.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

That sounded like it didn’t count either, but Hilda decided to humor her. “Like who?”

Marianne hesitated, but eventually replied with an adorable smile, “Well, you make  _ me  _ happy.” Her face glowed with sunlight pouring in from the open stall, and for a moment, Marianne’s signature eyebags faded away. 

Hilda felt her face redden. Had Marianne always been this cute? There hadn’t been another reason why she didn’t mind working with Marianne, was there?

“Well, I’m glad you feel that way,” Hilda managed to reply. She’d mull over it with Claude later. Right now, they had work to do, as unfortunate as it was. She gave Marianne a small hug and pulled them both back to their feet. “Back to work it is. I apologize in advance for any problems I might cause along the way.”

“Don’t apologize,” Marianne said, taking Hilda’s hand in hers. “It’s always a pleasure working with you.”

_ Goddess _ . If Marianne wasn’t careful, Hilda would have to start volunteering for these stable shifts. 

* * *

One shining stall later, the pair was ready to move on to the next. Following Marianne’s advice this time, they had tied Dorte outside, so all that was left was to move him back in. 

“I’ll leave this one to you, Marianne,” Hilda said. “I’d only mess it up.”

“I’m sure you and Dorte just got off on the wrong foot.” 

Hilda crossed her arms over her chest. “Well I’m glad it was the wrong one because the right one would’ve bashed my skull in.”

“Please? I don’t want two of my favorite individuals at odds with one another.” 

Hilda couldn’t say no when Marianne was asking so politely. Besides, she was very rarely referred to as someone’s ‘favorite individual’ by anyone other than Holst. She’d risk it this once. 

Begrudgingly, she untied Dorte from the post outside and took hold of his reins. She slowly lead him into the stable, keeping close tabs on all four of his feet as she did so. Marianne trailed behind the two, assumedly to ensure all went well. 

“Huh, maybe you aren’t so bad,” Hilda told him as she untied the reins. She then reached to close the corral door. 

Hilda would later choose to believe he was just being playful (possibly for her own paranoia’s sake), but for whatever reason, the brute shoved her backwards with his snout, causing her to slip and fall for the second time that day. Once again, Marianne was there, ready to cushion her fall. This time, Hilda found herself atop Marianne, their stomachs pressed together. 

“Geez, I’m sorry, Marianne,” Hilda tried scrambling to her feet. If she didn’t act fast, Marianne would be able to feel her heart pounding in her chest. 

Hilda lifted her head to find Marianne with her eyes closed shut, tears forming at the edges due to laughter. Though her laugh was small and quiet, she was certainly working herself up. Hilda couldn’t help but join in. Their faces were far too close together, but that didn’t matter right now. It wasn’t often she heard Marianne’s laugh, after all. Had it always been this charming? Damn, she really  _ was  _ cute. 

By all means, Hilda should have cursed that horse out, but this once, she would forgive Dorte. If this was what it took to see Marianne like this, then she’d gladly do it again. For Marianne. Maybe horses would grown on her eventually. 


End file.
